Jakarta. Bank Indonesia launched the national payment gateway on Monday (04/12), integrating various existing payment systems into one single platform to provide efficient service for banking customers.

Bank Indonesia spokesman Agusman said the gateway will establish an "interconnected payment ecosystem, which is interoperable and capable of carrying out domestically transactions that include authorization, clearing and settlement."

"[The gateway] improves consumer protection by securing customer transaction data in every transaction," Agusman said in a statement.

The gateway will ensure integrity of national transactions and consumers data, which in turn will help the central bank implement its monetary policy and help the government in distributing non-cash social assistance, he said.

Local banks will soon start using the national payment gateway logo for their services, indicating the system's applicability in payment terminals across the country, Agusman said.

Indonesia's payment market is so fragmented that commuters cannot even top up their bus or train passes at different banks than those that had issued them. There are hundreds of debit card issuers, 26 credit card issuers and 25 electronic money issuers, facilitating around Rp 17.2 trillion ($1.2 billion) in transactions per day.

The national payment gateway will carry out all authorization, clearing and settlement domestically, reducing the cost of processing transactions abroad, Agusman said.

Under the national payment gateway regulation, Bank Indonesia will require foreign payment brands operating in the country, including JCB International Indonesia, Mastercard Indonesia, UnionPay Indonesia and Visa Worldwide Indonesia, to work with local switching companies.